A New Life: Chap23:The Day is Always Darkest
by betterthings89
Summary: This saga is about the lives of the children of Lilly&Oliver and their friends children too. Chaos, worry, humor, and sadness ensue when Susan visits Charlie, Mike visits Jim, and Miley and the Okens recieve an unexpected guest.  Please leave review!


_* I hope you like this! __**Please leave reviews**__!_

**A New Life**

**-Chapter 23: The Day is Always Darkest Before the Dawn–**

"_Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me_." A priest read aloud as his companions strapped a man to a table before him. They were placing needles attached to tubes into his arms and legs. Another man, a member of the local police department stood and watched. The man across the room pressed a button and the table on which the man was strapped began to elevate until it had him facing straight forward looking through a thick plated window into a sparsely populated room of people who were simply sitting and watching. The police officer stepped forward and faced the man strapped to the table. He asked the one question of the man that he was legally obligated to pose.

"Lucas Tomland, do you have any last words?" The officer asked gravely. Lucas said nothing, he simply gave a stern, sullen stare, which told the officer the answer was 'no'. The officer motioned to the prison official who pressed another button which lowered the table into its original position. He motioned to a man standing near a long panel of control who tapped several controls which caused several rods to force liquid through the tubes connected to Lucas' body. His eyelids becoming heavy, the room beginning to fade around him, Lucas uttered one final plea to no one in particular, a desperate beckoning to something that never could have been, and never would be.

"It should have been me…should've been me…" Lucas whispered out of the right side of his otherwise now paralyzed face. He could no longer feel any sensation anywhere in his body. Everything had gone numb. Things were now dark; he couldn't see a thing, which may have been due to the fact that his eyelids no longer functioned and had drifted permanently shut. His impassioned plea fell on uncaring ears, and would never be realized for its meaning. Finally he faded into the unknown.

"Let it be known that on this day Lucas Eugene Tomland was legally executed by the process of lethal injection for the crime of…" The police officer spoke to the others in attendance.

"Take him to the morgue, may he rest in peace." The prison official said.

**-Six Months Earlier-**

"Mom, I'm gonna be late if I don't make it to the train station!" Mike yelled to his mother who was standing in the kitchen, now a little flustered at her son's impatience.

"Just a second, you'll make it, I promise." Lilly yelled back, hoping she wasn't going to turn out to be wrong. She was taking Mike to the train station so he could ride up to see Jim, who hadn't been able to make it home for his spring break due to a large amount of studying for exams which took place in several months but he needed as much preparation as possible. Now that it was Mike's spring break, he could go and see Jim and stay in his dorm room for the week.

"Come on mom! The train's not gonna wait for me."

"I know that, I'm coming! By the way do you know where your sister is?"

"Last time I saw her she was on her way to Alex's house. Something about a big surprise for their…whatever month anniversary this is."

"Ok, fine. I guess she'll tell me when she gets home. Let's get going."

They made it to the train station in plenty of time. Mike began to make his way towards one of the cars when he was waylaid by his mother.

"Aren't you gonna hug me goodbye kiddo?" Lilly asked, with outstretched arms.

"Mom! We're in public!" Mike complained through gritted teeth.

"It won't be that bad, come on, just a little hug."

"Ok, make it quick…" Mike groaned, quickly wrapping his arms around his mother, who was hesitant to let go when he began to pull away.

"I'll see you in a week! Be careful." Lilly shouted after him as he boarded the train. Hours later he jumped out of the train with his luggage and began to look around for his brother. It wasn't that difficult, Jim, his stocky yet thin older brother broke through the crowd of people on the platform quite promptly and yanked Mike into a powerful hug that he was incapable of resisting. He smiled because it seemed strange coming from Jim.

"That was from mom, little bro."

"Oh, I should've known. She must've told you about our little scene back in Malibu."

"Relax, it was from me too. Besides I'd like to see you try and stop me."

"That's true. I'm the only guy I know that's thirteen and his brother can still lift him over his shoulders without even trying."

"It's cause you don't have enough meat on 'dem bones little bro!" Jim remarked, clapping Mike on the back, nearly forcing him forward.

"You on the other hand have too much meat on your bones. Your arm muscles are practically bigger than my legs."

"That's an exaggeration. Besides there's no such thing as too much of that, little bro. Working out, you should try it some time, it helps with stress."

"You look like you've been really stressed lately." Mike commented as they got on the bus that would take them to Jim's dorm room parking lot.

"No, it helps me focus too. But anyway let's talk about you. How's it going with that girlfriend of yours?"

"She's amazing. Things can come out of my mouth… and you know when other girls would get upset, she completely understands what I mean. She's really cool when it comes to that."

"Or maybe my little bro's got that 'Smokin' Oken' magic on his side just like his big brother, huh?"

"Maybe that's it…I think I love her though."

"Michael Stanley Oken, you're only thirteen, you're not allowed to say that word about a girl you're dating."

"Why not? You did."

"That's different, I was at least sixteen…or around that anyway."

"Right…whatever you say."

"Anyway, so how's the other Oken smokin'?"

"You mean Rose?"

"Yes I mean Rose. Who'd you think I meant? Mom and dad?" Jim smirked, thumping Mike lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry. She's doing great. We still can't be happier for her…dumping that loser Ben. Alex is so cool. He plays catch with me, now that Charlie's in the hospital, and Susan's always there. I never knew he was good at baseball. He and Rose are really happy, and they like…it's like they were always together, like there two halves… or something. I think they're going out on a date tonight. They're going to see Ally Jonas in concert."

"Really deep, little bro. Speaking of deep, your voice, has it gone and changed while I've been away?"

"Yeah, people won't stop giving me a hard time about it. Grandma Heather was the worst, she wouldn't stop pinching my cheek and telling me how grown up I was getting."

"You think you have it rough. I was being hounded nonstop starting when I was twelve cause they found out I had kissed a girl…so all of a sudden I had a 'hot love life'." Jim grinned, putting his arm around his brother and throttling him affectionately. When they got into Jim's dorm room McCoy was sitting at the kitchen table mixing something in a bowl. It looked anything but appetizing.

"You're not gonna eat that, are you?" Mike asked him, cringing in disgust.

"This? It ain't for eating. It's an experiment." McCoy responded in his usual southern twang.

"You don't wanna know Michael. Tissue cultures…he's trying to infect them with…well like I said you don't wanna know."

"So Jim this is your little brother. Wait who's older?" McCoy asked looking them both over in comparison. Jim looked at Mike to see what the confusion was about, he quickly discovered the source.

"Who says he can't be taller than me? He's thirteen, I'm seventeen."

"Never mind, I was just askin' a question. He looks just like you accept…he's skinny."

"He didn't used to be this big, actually he used to be kind of ch…" Mike began to blabber.

"He doesn't need to hear about that. Trust me. He doesn't."

"Hear about what. What are you hidin' Jimbo?"

"Nothing special."

"I'm guessin' there's more than just facial features you two have in common." McCoy observed, referring to Mike being on the thin side.

"You mean the fact that we both have the sugar d's?" Mike asked innocently.

"Yeah, I thought so. Are you the same brother that broke his back…?" McCoy asked curiously.

"The one and only. Why? How'd you know that?"

"Your brother talks about you in classes all the time. You're his inspiration. You and his hot girlfriend."

"Okay, I think I'm just gonna go get your things off the curb before I get any more embarrassed." Jim said, making his way outside the dorm room.

"So what was it you where saying about Jim before he cut you off?" McCoy pondered.

"I think he's got a picture on his desk. Yeah here it is." Mike said, lifting a picture from Jim's desk on his side of the room. It was a picture of Mike and Jim on the beach when they were younger. Mike was short and abnormally thin. Jim was taller than him, and had an ample looking belly. "See, he was kind of fat then. He was eleven, I was seven. One Christmas our grandmother got really mad cause he ate a whole bunch of the Yule-log cake. And then when we took the Christmas picture we could see a bit of a spare tire on him. But look at him now…" Mike told McCoy, unintentionally gossiping, but entertaining McCoy more than he would ever know.

"Yeah, a lot of kids grow out of that when they get older. It's just the way it goes." McCoy told him. Just then Jim came back into the room. Mike stuck the picture back where he found it, hoping Jim didn't notice.

"Oh, great, that's awesome. Showing him what I looked like in my chubby years."

"It's okay. I won't tell anybody. Who would believe me anyway? Still I wish I'd known you then." McCoy laughed.

"No you don't. I would've eaten your lunch every day at school!" Jim joked snidely. A loud slamming noise emanated from behind them and a boy in his teens with light brown hair barged into the room pointing a pistol at them.

"Get down on the floor, all of you, NOW!" He shouted, forcefully, but seemingly uncertain of himself. They all clamored down to the floor as they were told.

"Who are you? What d'you want?" Jim asked, not an ounce of fear in his voice.

"The name's Jack. And I want you all to shut up!"

"How can we do what you want if you won't tell us?" Mike asked foolishly.

"SHUT UP MINI MCSKINNY!" Jack yelled.

"Come on, just tell us what you want and well get it." Jim tried again.

"Shut up, I'm thinking." Jack said, scratching his head with the shaft of the pistol.

"You're not thinking too hard obviously, or you wouldn't be pointing that gun at your own head." Jim said being smart in a very inappropriate circumstance. But then it occurred to him, he had always been smart-mouthed at the wrong time. His fights with an incredibly large Andy Corelli came flooding into his head.

"You're pretty flippant for a guy being held at gun point. Why don't you just keep quiet big guy!" Jack snapped at him, angrily. He seemed to come to a decision at that point. "You, cowboy boots, tie up big mouth."

McCoy pointed at himself and mouthed 'me?'

"Yes you! You're the only one here wearing cowboy boots! Now, take this rope and tie him up." Jack shouted.

"Wait, you're making a big mistake, I'm not the one that needs to be tied up. I'm no threat to you." Jim interjected, a plan forming in his mind.

"Oh yeah? You look pretty tough to me." Jack said, referring to Jim's abundance of muscle, particularly his bulging arm muscles, which at the moment appeared to be getting chocked off by too small sleeves in the undershirt he was wearing due to the heat.

"I can see how you'd think that. But, these are useless. I have no idea how to fight. I bet you do, you'd have no problem with me. Like I said, I'm no threat." Jim said, hoping a lie this big might somehow pass.

"And why is 'country-fried' over there more of a threat than you 'eight-pack'?" Jack demanded.

"Cause…he…he knows Taekwondo…yeah…he's a third-degree black belt. If you don't tie him up quick, he'll be able to get that gun from you, and you won't even see it coming." Jim said, giving McCoy a 'hush' look with his eyes and mouth saying 'go along with it'.

"So maybe I should just do him now, and save myself the trouble later?" Jack said, pulling back the top of the chamber, charging the power cell in the plasma pistol he was holding, it made a faint humming noise, meaning it was ready to fire.

"No! No. Just let me tie him up. There's no need to kill him. Plus if you shoot that thing the security system will go off. You'll get caught."

"Fine, tie him up, big guy." Jack said, throwing Jim a rope, which seemed to be the only one he brought. Jim caught it and began to bind McCoy's arms behind his back and wrapped some of the rope around his front to fasten his legs to his chest. But what Jack didn't see was that Jim was tying the knot right in the palms of McCoy's hands.

"Okay, he's tied up, now what?"

"Now we wait. My dad's gonna call me and tell me what to do. Right now he's setting up a surprise for your father, Jim. Oh and I supposed 'string bean' here must be you're little brother Mike?" Jack spoke them in a voice completely devoid of any morals.

"So, Jack, what about your mother. What's she think of all this?" Jim asked, trying to talk him down, but failing miserably.

"SHUT UP! I don't talk about her! She might have given birth to me, but Joanie is not my mother!" Jack spat at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Jim uttered quietly. A ringing sound was coming from Jack's pocket. He lifted a phone from that very pocket.

"Shut up, it's my dad!" Jack shouted, tapping a control. A hologram of a middle aged man with graying hair came into focus, projecting from the phone.

"Is it done my boy?" The man asked in a gritty voice, denoting a stressful and unsatisfying existence.

"Yes, father. I have the Oken brothers. They won't be a problem for me."

"I trust you son. But be wary of the big one. He's smart, and quick, unlike his father."

"As you wish father. I won't kill any of them until you tell me to."

"Kill them? I don't want you to kill them. I want you to make them watch!" Jack's father said laughing maniacally, dissolving from view as the call ended.

"You heard him, sit there and wait for it. I'm sure life will never be the same after my dad takes from yours the thing that should have been his long ago. The thing he took from my dad, in a time of my father's bad judgment. Or should I say the person?" Jack said, in his cold, emotionless voice.

Several hours later, at about five o'clock in the evening, Rose and Alex arrived at the LA Concert center. They had back stage passes to see Ally Jonas sing. This meant they would meet Ally, her father, and her brother after the concert was over. They quickly made their way to a security station and presented their passes to the guard, who promptly showed them back stage, and informed them that this was where they would be experiencing the concert from. As soon as the guard left them Rose turned to Alex and kissed him excitedly on the lips. "I'm so excited right now! I never thought I'd get to meet Ally Jonas!"

"Yeah, me neither…I like how you put it though." Alex said, more excited because Rose was excited, than he was about getting to meet the pop star who was now beginning her concert. Rose kissed Alex at least half a dozen times, unexpectedly throughout the three hours of the concert. When it was over Ally came back stage to greet them. She was slightly taller than Rose, more athletic looking, and she was partly Asian in appearance which came from her mother.

"You must be Rose and Alex, the ones that one the contest. I'm Ally…"

"Ally Jonas!" Rose exclaimed cutting her off.

"I love my fans. I really mean it. I suppose you two want pictures with me?" Ally said, posing between Rose and Alex, smiling. When they finished she looked to Alex.

"Is your girlfriend always this way?" Ally asked, referring to the fact that Rose was speechless and seemed to have a smile that wouldn't go away.

"No, she's just really excited to meet you that's all. Rose…say something!" Alex said through the corner of his mouth nudging Rose.

"Sorry. I'm…it just doesn't feel real. You know what I mean?"

"I know what you mean. I get this a lot." Ally told her.

"We have to get going Ally." Ally's father said.

"Well it was nice meeting both of you. If there's anything else we'll be here for the next few minutes getting ready to leave." Ally said to Rose and Alex.

"Thanks…Ally Jonas." Rose spouted awkwardly. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and read the screen.

"Alex, my mom is gonna be late, she's still at home. Some kind of emergency." Rose told him sounding worried.

"But we'll be here for hours!" Alex complained.

"I couldn't help overhearing; you two don't have a ride home. Maybe we can help you out." Ally's father offered.

"Thanks Mr. Jonas thanks a lot." Alex uttered.

"Let's go, you live in Malibu, right? We can drop you off on the way to the airport." Mr. Jonas told them. They all rushed into the limo parked in the garage of the concert center. When they got in they were sitting across from Ally, her father and her thirteen year old brother. On the way Mr. Jonas spoke up.

"By the way you can call me by my first name, Frankie."

"We know who you are…I mean you're a rock star…even bigger than your brothers ever where…of course we know you."

"Well that's nice to know. I'm getting recognized." Frankie said smiling. Ally's brother spoke up.

"I'm Ally's brother by the way, I'm Noah."

"Hi, Noah, we know you too. I mean, from your Taekwondo competitions on TV. You're awesome."

"Thanks!" Noah grinned.

Earlier that same evening Susan made her way down the hallways of the cancer ward at Malibu General Hospital to see Charlie, her boyfriend. He had stage three cancer, and things where not looking especially optimistic for him. He had weathered the same disease when he was younger, but this time it was different, more severe. When Susan got to his room she was shocked to see his bed was empty.

"Nurse, where is my boyfriend? His name is Charlie Hartman. He's supposed to be in this room."

"He might be out for another treatment." The nurse suggested.

"No, he's not scheduled for another session until tomorrow."

"I'll put security on it right away young lady."

"Wait! I don't think you need to. I'm pretty sure I know where he is." Susan told the nurse, making her way to an elevator at the end of the hall. She had seen a book on Charlie's bed side table that gave his location away. Besides that she knew him well enough to know what he must be doing. As she got off the elevator Susan observed a sign on the wall that read 'Pediatric Oncology Ward' which translated into the area where younger children with cancer stayed. Just as she had predicted Charlie was there in the main play area, amongst all the little kids. He was smiling and laughing along with the kids. He had a book in his lap, which he was reading to them. As he read he was doing faces and funny voices to make it more fun for the kids. He seemed to be finished reading the book. When he closed the book a little girl crawled over to him on the carpet and hugged him, a big smile on her face. He smiled and hugged the girl back. Susan moved closer, and as she did, she noticed Charlie was wearing his blue and white beanie hat. He had stopped wearing it years ago. But since he had started cancer treatments again, his hair had begun to fall out, so he was wearing the hat again to conceal it. Susan let things be for a while longer. But after a while she interrupted.

"Charlie, I've been looking for you."

"Hey, Sus, how's it going?" Charlie responded, his voice sounding tired and a little weak.

"I don't know you tell me how it's going."

"I just didn't feel like staying in my room all alone forever. Beside, who else was gonna read to these guys?" Charlie asked, pulling off his sweetest and most innocent expression.

"You can come back later. I promised the nurse I'd bring you back to your room, okay?"

"Fine. Later you guys!" Charlie said to the kids, some of whom waved at him as he left.

"It's just really hard to accept that more than half the kids in there won't make it to their next birthdays. But then chances are neither will I…so I guess it works out fine then…" Charlie said, sounding depressed for the first time since Susan had met him. It seemed at this moment to be obvious that Charlie had lost much of the innocence that had made him such a positive person. He had seemed unbreakable, but he was starting to crumble. He still had some of his joyous nature; this was evident in the way he took pleasure in keeping the other children company. But a part of Charlie was changed and would never be the same again. When they got back to Charlie's room his doctor was there waiting for him. Charlie climbed into bed; he was tired and hoped the doctor wouldn't take long because he wanted to get to sleep.

"Charlie I have some good news for you…well it might be good news."

"Okay, it's about time. I was starting to think all you could tell me was bad news."

"Well… according to the tests we ran this morning, there is the possibility you could go into remission fairly soon."

"How good…I mean what are the chances? I mean, I don't wanna get my hopes up if it's not gonna happen." Charlie stated in a very uncharacteristically pessimistic manner.

"There's a more than likely chance you will rally."

"Still, that's not very comforting."

"I'm sorry I can't promise anything. But don't give up just yet."

"Give up? He never gives up!" Susan interrupted.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Charlie murmured in a wholly unconvincing manner. He pulled the covers over himself and Susan left him to sleep.

Meanwhile chaos erupted at the Oken house. Miley was there with her fiancé Richard. But things were getting ugly because just as they sat down to get comfortable a specter from the past came bursting through the front door, splintering the door where the lock was. Jake Ryan, Miley's former husband exploded into the front living room, with a face full of wild fury.

"Miley Ray Ryan you're coming with me!" Jake yelled, shaking the room with his voice.

"Not a chance. And you know for dang sure it's Miley Stewart! Now get out!"

"No! There's not a force on heaven or earth that'll make me leave right now!" Jake shouted, saliva projecting from him in all directions.

"How 'bout the police? I'll bet they can make you leave."

"There ain't gonna be any cops, you lyin' hick!" Jake raged.

"What do you even want Jake it's been thirteen years? What could you possibly want with me?"

"I want you to stand up and tell me why in the name of all that is good and holy would you not tell me I have a daughter?" Jake fired at her, grabbing Miley's' arm and yanking her to her feet.

"What're you doing? You can't touch me like that!"

"I'll do whatever I want. Now tell me what I want to know! NOW!"

"Alright you really wanna know?" Miley shot back, pulling away from Jake's grasp.

"Yes! Tell me now!"

"You walked out on me before I could tell you, and I didn't think you needed to know. That's why!"

"You should have told me!"

"You didn't want kids! So I was dang sure you didn't want her!"

"Well…whatever! Now you're gonna tell me where she is!"

"And why would I do that? Do I look stupid to you?"

"You will if you don't tell me what I want to know!" Jake answered in a very threatening tone.

"Why, after all this time, would you want to know where she is?"

"'Cause you lied to me, and I'm taking custody!"

"You're never even gonna see her Jake Ryan! And there was no lying, like I said you left before I could tell you."

"I'll get her, you'll see. One of you will tell me and I think I know which one it is!" Jake announced insidiously. He panned his head around, his eyes moving along with it in an evil fashion. His gaze settled on Oliver who seemed frozen to the couch next to his wife Lilly. He was brought out of his fear-driven stupor by manner of Jake pulling him up and forcing him over the table in front of him. Jake then forced him to his feet and wrapped his hands around Oliver's' neck, and started to squeeze.

"Tell me where my daughter is and you'll live Oken."

"Never! You're not getting it from me." Oliver chocked out. Jake responded by pushing his foot into the front of Oliver's' kneecap, the bone snapped easily. Oliver was in too much pain to function at all.

"How 'bout now Oken? You gonna tell me or should I do the other one?"

"Okay, okay! She's at the hospital!"

"Why? Why is my daughter at the hospital? What did Miley do to her?"

"Nothing, Miley didn't do anything. Susan's boyfriend is there." Oliver sputtered from his closing windpipe, which Jake, seemingly satisfied, released his vice grip from.

"I'm going to get her! No one try to stop me. Don't call the cops, or you'll never see her again!" Jake threatened them all. He made his way towards the destroyed door he had entered through. Assuming Jake was no longer listening Lilly spoke.

"I just got a text from Rose a few minutes ago. She needs me to go pick her up. I told her I was busy, but I really need to go get her." Lilly said quietly to Oliver.

"I don't want any of you following me so I think I'll take your car Lilly. Your keys gimme your keys!" Jake demanded. Lilly threw her keys across the room where Jake caught them. He then made his way to the side of the house where Lilly's car was parked. They watched as he climbed into the car and slammed the door shut. Just then pandemonium set in. Jake turned the key in the ignition and just as the motor started the entire car exploded. The blast showered everyone in the living room with glass and things outside the house where now on fire. They all had glass stuck to them, which caused a panic.

Outside the house a man began to walk away as though he where utterly unmoved by the site of another human being incinerated by an explosion. He had been aiming a cell phone at the car when it exploded. Now that it was over he pressed another function button and a head in the form a hologram came in to form above his phone.

"The watched just like you said, father." The boy in his late teens asked without emotion.

"My part on the plan has collapsed. I killed the wrong person. It was just some blond fool that was stealing the car. You will have to proceed with your part of the plan. I will figure something out. Kill her sons. Do it now, don't miss my boy."

"Yes father, as you wish." The boy answered. But before the call could be ended, something the man was no expecting occurred.

"You… drop the phone and raise your hands slowly!" Someone commanded from behind him. As he was not expecting this to happen he was surprised and dropped the phone accidently. As it impacted with the cement the hologram of the boy warped out of existence. He began to raise his hands above his head when the man behind him grabbed him and handcuffed him in one quick fluid motion.

"I'm placing you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right…" A police officer of average height, and a little on the heavy side informed him.

In Jims' dorm room Jack placed his phone down on the table, and pulled out the plasma pistol he had tucked in his belt line. Without a word he took aim at Jim and pulled the trigger. Jim managed to dodge the plasma bolt but only by inches. He could feel the heat of the bolt as it streaked past his ear.

"Sorry Oken, but it's time for you and your puny little brother to say 'goodbye'." Jack smiled insanely. He raised the weapon and fired at Mike this time. The bolt was even closer, but Mike managed to duck under it, nearly unscathed. The smell of singed hair filled Jim's nostrils. Now it became even more personal, and crucial that he take some kind of action. Jack volleyed a barrage of blue plasma bolts in their direction. He had clearly never used a weapon before, all of his shots missed. He began to steady his aim, preparing to fire again, the pistol aimed squarely at Mike's head, there was no way he could miss. But when he pulled the trigger he was shocked to find that nothing happened. He cursed loudly as it dawned on him that the power cell was empty, and he would have to get another one from his pocket.

Time was of the essence. Jim sprung to his feet and in two long strides made it to Jack, who was fumbling in his pocket for another power clip. A loud cracking sound resonated throughout the room as Jim's fist exploded into the side of Jack's head. His eyes rolled back in his head, a small stream of blood leaked from his eye socket, where a blood vessel had ruptured. Jack sunk to the floor in dead weight; the pistol fell from his hand, sliding across the floor, feet from where he had landed. Around a half hour later Jack began to wake up. But he was greeted by the campus police.

"Jack Tomland you're under arrest for attempted murder, and underage possession of a lethal weapon."

"What? How'd you find out?" Jack asked beleaguered.

"Tipped off! Lieutenant Owen Oken of the Malibu PD, overheard your father telling you to kill these boys. He's on his way to prison; don't get your hopes up about ever seeing him again. Oh, and that pistol set off a silent alarm. Get up, I'm gonna cuff you." The officer commanded Jack, who did so, still emotionless as ever. Another officer moved over to Jim, Mike, and McCoy. He began untying McCoy, who had already managed to untie himself mostly.

"Are you boys alright?"

"I think so; my brother might need to grow back some hair. But I think we're alright."

"Speak for yourself Jim; my nerves are frayed beyond belief!" McCoy gripped.

After being questioned for hours by the campus police, and a visit from one of the college counselors, they were finally left alone.

"So you were fat Jim?" Was McCoy's first question.

"What? No! I was chubby!"

"I don't know, you looked kinda porky."

"How would you know? Wait he actually showed that to you?" Jim asked worriedly. He turned his gaze to his brother. "Michael Stanley Oken! You're in big trouble! I mean big! Bigger than you've ever had to face in your entire life."

"Bigger than that belly you had?"

"That's it, now you asked for it!" Jim grabbed Mike and put him in a headlock with Mike's head near his armpit. He started rubbing his brother's head with his knuckles, careful to avoid the newly acquired bald spot.

"Have mercy. Have mercy!"

"No mercy, just pain!" Jim laughed. Soon they were all laughing, trying to forget the day's occurrences.

_**Notes to the readers:**_

***Reviews are much appreciated!**

**- There are only a few chapters still left to come (2 tops) before the end. So I hope you will stick with it to the end.**

**-I would like to thank any of the people that have stayed with this story all this time, and hope you will stay with it to the end. I have enjoyed writing this story, and hope anyone reading it enjoyed it too.**

_** This is the twenty-third chapter of my story "A New Life". If you haven't read my first saga you may not know where these characters are coming from. So you might want to read it, or at least "Meant to Be Parts 5-9". This story takes place before the end of "Meant To Be"._

_***Lilly and Oliver, and Miley and Jackson are in their thirties/forties. Jimmy is __**17. **__Rose is __**15. **__Michael and Susan (Miley's daughter), and Robbie Rod (Jackson's son) are __**13.**_

_****If you want to find my other stories (My first saga) click on my screen name on the top of this page, and you can find my stories on my profile. If you want to stay updated as to when I post new chapters, please subscribe to my username!_


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